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First BootCamp at SKEMA’s Paris La Défense Campus a grand success

SKEMA Ventures recently organized a three-day BootCamp at SKEMA Business School’s Paris-La Defense campus for the first time. Eight startups had been chosen for this event from among 20 applicants. The experience was “intense”, according to the enthusiastic participants who pitched their projects. The rigorous training took them through the process of formulating the framework of their entrepreneurial venture. They also learned about iterative creation and fine-tuning of a business plan and how it can be used for managing the launch of a new venture and attracting outside investors. At the end of the BootCamp, a panel of judges, comprising investors, alumni, faculty and serial entrepreneurs from the local ecosystem, met for evaluating the pitches. The training session gave the young entrepreneurs an opportunity to benefit from the vast knowledge of professionals from organizations and networks such as Groupe BPCE, Réseau Entreprendre, and Réseau PEPITE, among others. It enabled them to discuss their ideas, businesses and action plans with the experts.

Working Session with Next Level, focused on E-Game. (Photo Credit: Lora Barra)
Working Session with Next Level, focused on E-Game. (Photo Credit: Lora Barra)

The winners

After all the pitches had been presented, the jury selected three projects — a winner and two runners-up. They will now have the opportunity to present their startups at the Alumni Prestige Events in Lille and Nice. This year’s winner is Les Sublimeurs, founded by Alaude Lefebvre and Paul-Marc Santelli (MS Entrepreneurship and Innovation, 2018). Have you ever asked a restaurant’s waiter about the origin of the truffle jam, the butter biscuits you had with your coffee, the ceramic plate or the chair you were sitting on? Les Sublimeurs enables clients to get information on one’s gastronomic products, such as the tableware or the decoration they discovered during dinner at a restaurant or stay at a hotel. This promising startup features bars, restaurants, and hotels that showcase arts and crafts from the French “savoir-Faire” of excellence.

Les Sublimeurs, pitching in front of the jury. (Credit: Lora Barra)
Les Sublimeurs, pitching in front of the jury. (Credit: Lora Barra)

Two other projects which stood out are Odoori, created by Florian Gardesse (MA in International Business, SKEMA Business School) and PayForTwo, started by Federico Cau (BBA, SKEMA Business School).

Odoori is a social network-based augmented reality and geolocation application. The idea of this venture took shape in Florian’s mind over a period of two years. He conceptualized it while exploring Paris during an internship. He realized that it was easy to find information about a building’s history, but it would be interesting if more personal and recent anecdotes from everyone could be shared. Eventually, he launched Odoori and offered a new social networking experience based on instantaneity, localization and augmented reality. Odoori is now looking for an IT Developer, Growth Hacking and Communication Experts and Fundraisers.

Florian Gardesse (Odoori), presenting his app to the jury. (Photo Credit: Lora Barra)
Florian Gardesse (Odoori), presenting his app to the jury. (Photo Credit: Lora Barra)

PayForTwo also impressed the jury. Its founder, Federico Cau, explains his idea briefly: “PayForTwo gives users the opportunity to meet the people they prefer by offering them coffee, drink, lunch or dinner. It enables those who are traveling to find safe and pleasant company for dinner in a city that they maybe don’t know.” The 19-year-old entrepreneur who participated in the BootCamp is targeting, among other audience, the huge market of business travelers. The BootCamp was a useful opportunity for Federico who has successfully designed his business plan as well as financial forecast and action plan.

Federico Cau, Founder of PayForTwo. (Photo Credit: Lora Barra)
Federico Cau, Founder of PayForTwo. (Photo Credit: Lora Barra)

This event is the crowning achievement of a one-year effort around entrepreneurship and innovation at SKEMA Business School. Less than a year after its launch, SKEMA Ventures organized six Startup Kafés with more than 150 projects pitched in a year, a STARTONIC Week-End in Lille, and a BootStrap in Sophia Antipolis. All these events underline the growing GloCal entrepreneurship spirit among students and alumni and SKEMA Business School’s commitment to becoming a benchmark actor in entrepreneurship and innovation.

Written by: Ilan Scialom

SKEMA Ventures

SKEMA Ventures is a business unit created by SKEMA Business School dedicated to impact entrepreneurship and innovation. Through a unique value chain, that encompasses teaching, coaching, incubation, and acceleration, SKEMA Ventures allows each SKEMA student and alumni to think, design, test and launch an impactful entrepreneurial project in a global context, on six innovative territories on four continents, benefiting from the best of each local ecosystem. With SKEMA Ventures, GloCal impact entrepreneurship is born! Watch this video to know more

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